No hiding on Halloween
by Frontline
Summary: When Mikey finds a flyer for a Halloween Parade, he sees a night where they will not have to hide...


**All characters and concepts are the property of their respective creators. No copyright infringement is intended, or profit made, from this work of fiction.**

'Dudes, you've got to look at this...'

'What is it, Mikey?' Leo said. 'I'm trying to meditate...'

'Forget meditation,' Mikey said, thrusting out the flyer that he'd been holding.

' "Halloween Parade tonight"...' Leo said, as he took it from him. 'So...?'

'So? We should go...'

'It's too dangerous,' Leo said, as Raph looked round from where he had been working on the punching bag.

'Come on, Leo?' Mikey said. 'It's Halloween. Everyone will be in costume...'

'We can't take the risk...'

'Fine. Forget it,' Mikey snapped, snatching back the flyer and storming into his room, slamming the door behind him.

#################

'Leonardo...'

'Master Splinter...'

'Something troubles you, my son,' Splinter said, moving to sit cross-legged in front of him, tucking his tail behind him.

'I...don't like that we have to stay hidden down here, Sensei...'

'I cannot make you any promises, my son. There may be a time when we no longer need to hide but, for now, we need to remain in the shadows...'

'Yes, Sensei,' Leo said, standing up. 'Good night...'

#################

Donny looked up from the circuit board that he was working when his computer beeped, a message flashing up on the screen.

'Leo,' Donny said, snatching up his Turtlecom. 'The motion sensors in the access tunnel have been tripped. Someone's gone up to the surface...

'_Mikey...'_

#################

'This is awesome,' Mikey muttered, as he joined the crowd that was following the parade, finding himself walking alongside a vampire and a wizard.

'Nice costume,' the vampire said and Mikey grinned.

'Thanks, dude...'

#################

'Mikey's gone,' Leo said and Raph snorted, folding his arms across his chest.

'So what...?'

'So, we need to find him before he gets himself in trouble...'

'Why? Did you ever think that maybe he's got the right idea...?'

'You can stay if you want, Raph,' Leo said. 'I'll find him alone if I have to...'

'...like I'd let you have all the fun,' Raph said, grabbing his sai and shoving them into his belt. 'Let's go...'

#################

Mikey finished his slice of pizza, licking his fingers as he strolled through the crowds. After a lifetime spent in the shadows, it felt strange to be walking the streets with no-one paying him any attention. Across the street, he spotted a dark-haired woman talking to a broad-shouldered man. As he watched, she turned to walk away, stopping as a hard-faced woman blocked her path.

_Uh-oh..._

Quickly, Mikey scrambled onto a stall, vaulting across the street as the man grabbed her wrist.

'Get off me,' she yelled, twisting out of his grip, kicking him in the knee and he collapsed with a strangled cry.

'Get her,' he snarled and the woman drew a knife, just as Mikey landed in front of her. The woman's eyes widened and she slashed at him. Mikey caught her wrist, knocking her down with a shoulder throw. Scrambling up, she dragged the man to his feet, helping him to hobble away.

'Those were some good moves,' Mikey said and she grinned.

'Thanks. A black belt in Krav Maga has to be good for something. I'm Emily...'

#################

'I still don't see what the big deal is,' Raph said, as he landed in a crouch on the rooftop next to Leo.

'We're Ninjas, Raph. We stay in the shadows. If Mikey gets caught and the world finds out about us...'

'You worry too much, Leo. It's one night. Let him enjoy himself...'

'In case you've forgotten, we've got enemies, Raph. Shredder. Krang. Stockman. TGRI...'

'Thanks, Leo. We've only been fighting them for years, so, you know, I might have forgotten...'

'Listen...'

'We've got a problem,' Donny said from where he was crouching on the edge of the roof, Leo moving to join him with a glare at Raph.

'Mikey?'

'Negative,' Donny said, pushing his thermal scanner goggles up onto his head. 'See that building across the street? At 1 o'clock? There's a guy inside tied to a chair in the top floor apartment. I think he's a cop...'

'Yeah? And how d'you know that?' Raph asked, Donny pointing to the police car outside the appartment with it's lights still on. '...okay. What are we gonna do...?'

'See the skylight? Raph, you and I will go in. Donny, position yourself outside the nearest window, ready to extract him when I say. Let's go...'

#################

'That's a great costume,' Emily said, as she and Mikey made their way back to the Parade.

'Thanks. I don't get to come up...I mean, I don't get that many evenings off, so...'

'Emily!'

'Hey, Dev,' Emily said, smiling at a man in a red tuxedo, complete with tail, who was waving at them. 'Well, I've got to go. Thanks, again...'

'Sure, Mikey said, watching as they disappeared into the crowd. Wandering away, he ambled over to a crowd of people who had gathered into a crude ring, cheering loudly. Scrambling onto a low wall, Mikey say that a man dressed all in black was in the centre of the ring, juggling with flaming batons. Dropping into a crouch, he flung the sticks into the air, snatching them out of the air as they feel, drawing another cheer from the crowd. With a grin, he extinguished the batons, as a dark-haired man in a leather jacket stepped into the centre of the ring.

'Alright. Who's next? This night needs more tricks to keep it going...'

With a grin, Mikey somersaulted over the heads of the crowd, executing a double splits-kick, before landing in a crouch. Rolling over one shoulder, he launched a spinning kick, landing to deliver a rapid punch combo, the crowd roaring their approval and he grinned.

_Bet the others aren't having this much fun..._

#################

'You're pretty brave, pig,' a man's voice snarled, followed by a grunt of pain. 'Too bad for you...'

Leo glanced across at Raph, who nodded, taking a smoke bomb from his belt. Gently, Leo eased open the skylight and Raph flicked the pellet through to land at the feet of the grim-faced man who was looming over the police officer.

'What the helll...arghh!'

Leo dived through the skylight, followed by Raph, landing lightly on the apartment floor. Despite the gloom and the smoke, he could tell from the footsteps and sounds of movement that there were three others in the room. Kicking out towards the nearest scuff of a boot, he was rewarded by a grunt of pain and he reversed the kick to catch him across the jaw, dropping him to the ground. Behind him, there was the crash of breaking glass that signalled Donny's entry, followed by a thump and muffled gasp as he bore the police officer to the floor. To his left, he heard the smack of a fist, followed by a huff of breath that he recognised from Raph's exhertions on the punching bag. Spinning round, Leo ducked a punch from the last man, taking him down with a shoulder throw. Quickly, Raph cut the police officer free with his Sai, following Leo and Donny back through the skylight just as the smoke cleared.

'That's what I'm talking about,' Raph said, high-fiving Donny with a smirk. 'We sure showed them...'

'We're here to find Mikey,' Leo said. 'Remember...?'

'I've found him,' Donny said, Leo's eyes narrowing as he saw where he was pointing.

'Let's go...'

#################

With a grin, Mikey somersaulted over the heads of the crowd, heading towards a nearby alley, just as an arm snaked around his neck. Braking the grip, Mikey spun round to see Leo, Donny and Raph...

'Oh. Hey, dudes...'

'We're going back,' Leo said. 'Now...'

'Come on, guys. I've been out here for two hours and nothing's happened...'

'He's right,' Donny said. 'I've been checking social media and there's been nothing posted about Mikey...'

'See? We don't need to hide tonight. Come on, Leo. We've been hiding underground all our lives. Are you really going to pass this up...?

'...Alright. But, we need to be back here by 04:00...

Yes. Alright, dudes. It's party time...'

**Thank you for reading. I hoped you enjoyed it. Any reviews, comments or constructive criticisms are very welcome.**


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